Sanyuesan (March 3rd) Festival of the Zhuang

Background

Sanyuesan, the third day of the third lunar month, is the grandest traditional festival of the Zhuang people and is also called the Song Fairy Festival. In 1984 the People's Government of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region designated it a region-wide ethnic festival, and in 2014 it was inscribed on the national intangible cultural heritage list and became a statutory holiday in Guangxi. The liveliest part is the song fair, where men and women form teams and sing back and forth: love songs, riddle songs, farming songs and ancient songs. People make five-colour glutinous rice, and there is embroidered-ball tossing, bamboo-pole dancing and board-shoe racing. The 2026 "Colourful March 3rd" folk fair at Nanning Garden Expo Park (April 17 to 20) featured staged scenes of Liu Sanjie and Brother A Niu, a long-table feast with toasts, porridge blessings and an ethnic sports zone.

Local customs

• Listen to antiphonal folk singing at a song fair
• try five-colour glutinous rice
• join in embroidered-ball tossing, bamboo-pole dancing and board-shoe racing

Travel tips

• The main day is the third day of the third lunar month, a public holiday across Guangxi, with events around the region lasting several weeks and schedules announced each year (the 2026 events at Nanning Garden Expo Park ran April 17 to 20). Nanning Garden Expo Park is in Yongning District, and traditional song fairs are also held in places such as Wuming
• holiday travel is busy, so book accommodation and transport early. Tickets and transport arrangements are subject to official announcements.

2027 schedule

• In 2027 the third day of the third lunar month is April 9
• schedules of events around Guangxi are pending official announcement.